A red light camera keeps watch over the intersection at Western Avenue and Van Buren Street in 2015 in Chicago. Several mayoral candidates say they want to take a closer look at the red light camera system.

A red light camera keeps watch over the intersection at Western Avenue and Van Buren Street in 2015 in Chicago. Several mayoral candidates say they want to take a closer look at the red light camera system. (Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune)

Candidates for Chicago mayor have plenty of opinions about how to improve transportation. Whoever takes over as mayor after Rahm Emanuel in May will have to decide how to expand the CTA, cope with increasing road congestion and tackle issues posed by new technology, like self-driving cars and electric scooters.

This column discussed some candidates’ views last September, but many more candidates have since jumped into the race. Because the nonpartisan election is on Feb. 26, just two weeks away, it seemed like a good time to revisit the issue.

The following are responses from candidates on some of the city’s biggest transportation issues:

Red light and speed cameras

Red light cameras are controversial in Chicago, for good reason. A 2012 Tribune investigation exposed a bribery scandal connected to the program, as well as problems with enforcement practices. However, a 2017 Northwestern University study found that cameras do reduce some serious crashes by making drivers more cautious.

Businessman Willie Wilson and attorney Gery Chico say they want to do away with the cameras.

Chico said in a statement that “all these cameras do is take money from lower- and middle-class families.”

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, said he would declare a moratorium on the program to see if it is fair. “It’s one of the systems that’s driving people into poverty,” Ford said in an interview.

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune

A sign at the intersection of Madison Street and Ashland Avenue warns of a red light camera in 2014.

A sign at the intersection of Madison Street and Ashland Avenue warns of a red light camera in 2014. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Other candidates say they want to take a closer look at the system, to make sure cameras operate only where they will do the most good. Both Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and state Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in statements they should only be used where needed for public safety, and that the city should remove some of them.

Attorney Jerry Joyce said the system should be reviewed. “The red light and speed camera program was put in place primarily to raise revenue, not to promote public safety,” Joyce said in a statement.

Amid reports about the high number of traffic and parking tickets given in black and Hispanic communities, all candidates have said the city should take a closer look at sources of traffic fines and their impact on lower-income residents.

Community activist Amara Enyia said in an interview she wants to get rid of the Denver boot, which locks up cars with unpaid tickets. “Taking away the person’s way to get around is quite draconian and not protective,” she said. She also advocates taking into account an individual’s income in collecting ticket money owned.

Former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot told the Tribune that the city needs an audit to look at enforcement patterns, and former White House chief of staff Bill Daley called the current fine and fee structure “unacceptable.”

“We cannot continue to balance our budget on the backs of low- and moderate-income Chicagoans,” Daley said in a statement. Daley proposed a reform plan that includes a one-time amnesty for low- to moderate-income residents most affected by the current system, a statute of limitations for parking ticket debt, and limiting driver’s license suspensions to only moving violations.

CTA fares

When the state of Illinois tried free transit rides for all seniors, the program made a big hole in agency budgets and was eliminated in 2011. The state is not fully funding the reduced-fare programs for students, low-income seniors and the disabled that the CTA has now, which is causing annual budget problems for the agency.

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune

Some mayoral candidates back more free CTA rides for youths and seniors.

Some mayoral candidates back more free CTA rides for youths and seniors. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

But that is not stopping some mayoral candidates from supporting more free rides and lower fares.

Five candidates — Preckwinkle, Enyia, Lightfoot, Wilson and Ford — all agreed to free CTA rides for youths and seniors at a West Side forum on Jan. 16. This came a day after Preckwinkle cautioned against the idea of more free rides at a mayoral forum on bus service in Pilsen.

Former Chicago Public Schools President Paul Vallas has proposed integrating a discounted/free transit fare program in a “wraparound social service program,” and evaluating a person’s ability to pay in deciding how to enforce fare evasion.

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune

CTA Red Line trains enter and exit the 95th Street station in Chicago in January 2018. Most mayoral candidates have backed extending the Red Line south to 130th Street.

CTA Red Line trains enter and exit the 95th Street station in Chicago in January 2018. Most mayoral candidates have backed extending the Red Line south to 130th Street. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

CTA expansion

Most of the candidates have spoken in favor of the proposed CTA Red Line expansion south to 130th Street and more dedicated bus lanes, though the contenders have some different ideas on the best way to get the money.

Former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who has described himself as a “conservative Democrat,” said at last month’s Pilsen forum that a better relationship with the current Republican administration in Washington, D.C., would help win funding for transit.

“It seems like we’re at war with this administration and frankly that polarization is hurting everybody,” McCarthy said.

Other candidates stressed working with the Illinois congressional delegation and other officials to pursue both federal funding, and to go after state funding. Enyia promoted use of the real estate transfer tax as well as looking at possibly using revenue from parking, ride-share taxes and moving violations to help fund transit in underserved areas.

Chico advocated paying for the CTA expansion to 130th Street using tax increment financing dollars, if other government funding is not available.

Daley said to fund the expansion, he is considering private investments like an expanded transit-oriented development policy, along with pushing for federal and state money.

While he agreed that Red Line expansion is a good idea, Vallas noted that given the $2.3 billion price tag it is “unlikely” that project will come about soon. He recommended improving east-west bus service and making the CTA faster and more reliable by increasing capacity, trying traffic signal priority programs and studying the idea of reinstalling skip-stop service on the Blue Line to O’Hare, and maybe the Red Line too. “Skip-stop” means skipping some stops along a route to increase speed and capacity; the CTA phased out the practice in 1995.

Lightfoot, Vallas, Preckwinkle and Daley said they would look at using the Metra Electric to expand service on the South Side.

Former Ald. Bob Fioretti went the furthest of the candidates regarding CTA expansion — recommending not just the extension of the Red Line but also extending the Orange Line to Ford City Mall, and building additional stations on several lines. He acknowledged that the idea would be costly.

“We hope, that in the coming years, the political climate will change, and we’ll realize that economic growth is not created by tax cuts for the wealthy, but by investment in transportation,” Fioretti said.

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune

Ride-share drivers wait for a green traffic signal light on North Michigan Avenue last year in Chicago.

Ride-share drivers wait for a green traffic signal light on North Michigan Avenue last year in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Ride-share and congestion

The proliferation of ride-share service has been credited for bringing more transportation options, but it also has been blamed for declining transit ridership and increasing congestion, especially in the Loop and other high-density neighborhoods.

Several candidates, including Preckwinkle, McCarthy and Enyia, called for having the same regulations for ride-share drivers as for taxi drivers. Currently, taxi drivers face stricter background checks and training requirements.

“The rules have to be the same for everybody,” McCarthy said at the Pilsen bus forum.

Mendoza said in a statement that she wanted to ensure that both taxi and ride-share drivers are earning at least a minimum wage after expenses. The comptroller said she would not support a cap on ride-share licenses — something being tried in New York City — because it would limit ways for residents to earn money, including many teachers who drive part-time during the summer months.

Preckwinkle said she supports the ride-share tax Emanuel imposed on ride-share travel to help fund the CTA, and she would consider raising ride-share fees to use for transit.

Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune

Bicyclists peddle south on North Milwaukee near North Racine Avenue in Chicago in 2016.

Bicyclists peddle south on North Milwaukee near North Racine Avenue in Chicago in 2016. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

Bike lanes and other issues

Candidates had broad divisions on bike lanes. Ford said they should not be a priority. “That’s the last thing we should do,” he said.

Preckwinkle, by contrast, pledged at least 100 miles of new bikeways. Mendoza also wants to expand bike lanes and bike share. Daley said he supported expansion of protected bike lanes, but said that the city needed to account for existing traffic and make sure it can keep cyclists safe.

Lightfoot said traffic congestion is at “crisis” levels, and that the city needs to better manage road construction.

Most candidates were negative, or at best lukewarm, about the proposed Elon Musk underground express service between O’Hare airport and the Loop. The Chicago Infrastructure Trust has not yet reached a contract with Musk’s company for the project, and its prospects are dim if a new mayor does not support it.

Musk has pledged to pay for the service himself, without public funds. Both transportation and engineering experts have voiced skepticism about whether the project would succeed.

Lightfoot called the notion that the taxpayers would not get stuck with part of the tab for the project “a fiction.”

“There are too many variables regarding both safety and costs that ultimately would be the responsibility of the city,” said Jerry Joyce.

Daley said that the tunnel could add capacity, but as mayor he would “thoroughly review” the proposal and not invest any taxpayer dollars.

Two candidates, attorney John Kozlar and tech entrepreneur Neal Sales-Griffin, did not respond to requests for comment for this column.

Transportation song quiz

The most recent transportation song refers to a nickname for Division Street. The song is “Polish Broadway Polka” and is performed by Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push. Larry Pietras, of Glen Ellyn, was first with the right answer.

This song about roving and rambling was a reaction to another song: “God Bless America.” What’s the song, and who wrote it? The first person with the right answer gets a Tribune bookmark, and glory.